JONAH BENNETT
National Security/Politics Reporter
The Daily Caller
Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for a CIA tip that prevented a plot to bomb St. Petersburg.
The CIA provided enough information for Russian authorities to nab a ring of suspects planning a deadly attack against the Kazan Cathedral and numerous other locations in St. Petersburg, according to the Kremlin, The Associated Press reports.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Friday that it had arrested seven suspect Islamic extremists involved in the bomb plot earlier in December.
Putin asked Trump to thank the CIA on his behalf and also added that Russian intelligence will in turn pass over any tips it might come across regarding potential threats against the United States.
“Russian security services, should they have information about possible terrorist threats to the United States and its citizens, will swiftly and unconditionally share it with the US colleagues via partner channels,” the Kremlin’s press service stated.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed on Sunday the call had in fact taken place.
One of the aims of the Trump administration has been to improve relations with Russia, which have rapidly deteriorated over the past several years, though that attempt has been somewhat overshadowed by revelations from the U.S. intelligence community Russia directly tried to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.